American Dream Series: A Letter to Millennials

I am glad to have been accepted into this country. Although I was raised by immigrant parents, I was well received by many into society. Nevertheless, there are many limitations that have been bestowed upon me because of my ethnic origin. As a black Haitian American, there are many hindrances that I experience that you will not, and this is why I need your support.

If there is anything that I have taken away from my years in this country, it is that America is not perfect, or even close to it by any account. Racism, discrimination, and inequality are all major adversities that we have yet to overcome. In these rapidly changing times, many individuals are not welcomed with open arms into this country as my parents had been decades ago. These are issues that I believe millennials are well equipped to solve and conquer in the near future.

We are a country of immigrants; this is who we are. We are living in a society where many people feel unwelcome and unsafe because the leader of the free world has abandoned the most intrinsic values of this country. Although this may not have been the intention of our founders, we are living in a new era, an era of change and new law. As a people, we can encourage diversity while maintaining the common goal to elevate America to the highest mountain.

The increase in activism and socioeconomic awareness among the youth has given me a renewed hope. I hope that we will cease to discriminate against people that do not look like us, speak the same language, or share the same culture, because our differences create a beautiful union. It is like the endless variation of flowers in a flower field. We all need each other in order to create a beautifully balanced union that aspires us all.

This is a cry to the millennials, and I hope you all are listening. We are here as an example for the next generation of men and women in our society. There are so many young individuals, women and minorities especially, who have been told “no one cares about what you have to say” or “you’re not smart enough to understand”, and that needs to be changed. Look at the bigger picture, whether you have realized it or not, you are a role model, you are looked up too, and that is a great responsibility. We are the future of this country, so rise up, and become the leaders that you are destined to become.